Raid on Apogee Station
by alimination602
Summary: Ratchet attempts to infiltrate Apogee Station


Chapter 1- Raid on Apogee Station

For Talwyn Apogee this morning started out pretty much the same way as every other day. She awoke to the cool, unrelenting vacuum of space, the sweet silence broken only by the unremitting cries of Cronk and Zephyr as they debated for the umpteenth time which brand of robot oil loosened their joints most effectively.

She rolled lazily out of bed, rubbing her eyes clear, the unavoidable shroud of half-sleep still draped over her eyes. She showered and dressed quickly as she always did, only emerging from her rooms when she was fully prepared to face the coming day.

She stepped into the stations control room, stopping to retrieve a direly required cup of caf from the machine as it went about it's work, humming gleefully, it's tune slowly going cold, returning to it's slumber until some other requested it's services. She threw herself down in her chair, basking in the light of the dozens of monitors, each showing another area of the dark void of space or the shadowy interior of the station. Talywn activated the scan, which would scour the region for anything of value that could be salvaged. She threw her feet up on the control panel, ready to kick back and nap. "Nothing better to do in this abandoned region of space"

A sound awoke her from her deep slumber. Her instincts honed razor sharp through years of military training and experience with what many would regard politely as the 'Scum of the universe' had given her a sixth sense for danger. She ran her fingers across the control panel, the screen becoming alive with video feeds from the dozens of security cameras that lined the exterior of the station and covered the labyrinth of corridors across the darkened station. A figure appeared on one of the screens. Talywn zoomed in on the dark figure, noticing the detailing of the persons armour, the strands of golden fur that punctured through the cracks in the armour.

She opened her COM link. "Cronk, Zephyr. We have intruders, I need you to investigate"

"_Roger that ma'am_" Cronk called out over the COM link.

Talywn retrieved her blaster snugly sitting in the holster clasped to her thigh, checking the charge and returning it too its housing. Whoever had punctured trough her finely intertwined defences was going to meet the business end of her plasma pistol.

Ratchet glanced around the dark interior of the station. So far the infiltration had gone flawlessly, he didn't like that. Silence meant ambushes, silence usually meant your enemy was either inept, or was planning something, it was almost always the latter.

"Where exactly did you get this thing?"

Clank looked up at him, no hint of sarcasm in his monotone voice. "The Zoni, they're little invisible creatures who travel through time!"

"Ok..." Ratchet trailed off, not knowing how to respond when his partner seemed to be three grades of crazy.

"There's the scoundrel!" A metallic voice cried out from the shadows, turning to face the potential enemy head on.

"Pulverize him!" Another called out from behind him, crying for his head.

The figure appeared from the shadows, a red robot carrying a plasma rifle in its frail arms. Another appeared from the other side, flanking him. This new target with a large robot encased in light blue armour, a complete opposite of the first. The two of them charged towards ratchet, ready to crush him into a lombax sandwich.

Ratchet stepped backwards, resulting in the two attackers impacting eachother, falling to the floor before him in a comical fashion. Ratchet couldn't discern whether this was funny, or sad.

Talwyn crouched atop the air vent overhanging the entrance hall that gave visitors access to the remainder of the facility. She remained silent, watching as the intruders stepped forward into the light. They were in her sights; she couldn't make out their features, his face shadowed by a ballistic helmet. She retrieved her blaster, bringing her weapon up to her chest, ready to fire if necessary.

She brought her weapon to bear, preparing to shoot too kill if necessary. Suddenly a loud sound emanated from down below, rousing her from her military sharpened trance. Cronk and Zephyr appeared from the shadows, charging at the intruder. They met just short of their target, impacting eachother with harsh force. This was what you get when you cheaped out on your security droids circuitry. "Looks like I'll have to deal with this myself" She thought to herself.

"Thanks guys, I can handle it from here" She called out, engaging her thruster pack as she dropped through the opening in the ceiling, dropping in front of her target, raising her weapon ready to fire. "Congratulations you win an all expense paid trip out the airlock, and I hope you wouldn't mind letting yourself out, it the sound of bodies decompressing in space"

"Yee-ah" Zephyr cackled as he thrust his gun into Ratchets side. "You put that Lombax in his place"

"Huh?" Talwyn was certainly struck back by the odd comment. She utilized this opportunity to overlook her opponent, his armour his weapon, his… tail? She suddenly noticed the tufts of golden fur that punctured through the few cracks in his armour, his pointed ears, his daring feline eyes. He was a lombax!

Ratchet noticed her keen interest, cocking his eyebrow, having never attracted a noticeable amount of interest from females in the past; he couldn't comprehend how it had altered now.

"He is a lombax!" Taylwn called out in surprise. "Cronk, Zephyr. Lower your weapons!" They complied without delay.

Again Ratchet couldn't unravel exactly how the situation had altered, he was just relived that he wasn't going to be shot in the side just yet. The mystery girl stepped forward, clasping her gloved hand around his. She tugged on gently "And you come with me" She pulled slightly harder, pulling him off of his balanced and causing him to stumble clumsily after her. Leaving behind them a confused Cronk and Zephyr to guard the Lombaxes tiny, metal companion.


End file.
